


Late Night Encounters

by MissMarieInWonderland



Series: Hospital Bracelets [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: And I am clearly a sadist, Eating Disorders, because vulnerable Hunter is fun, mentions of anorexia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-16
Updated: 2013-06-16
Packaged: 2017-12-15 03:47:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/844950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissMarieInWonderland/pseuds/MissMarieInWonderland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Meow” “Mmmmm.” “Meow” “MMMMMM.” “Meow”</p>
<p>“MMMMM, goddammit, Clarington!” Sebastian threw the comforter off of him and sat up, effectively sending the cat that had been sitting on his chest toppling to the ground. He quickly stood up and shook, sending what could only be described as a glare back up at Sebastian. In return, Sebastian stuck his tongue out at the demon.</p>
<p>“Hunter, control your fucking—” He cut himself off after a glance revealed the empty bed across the room from him. It may have been dark, but there was just enough light to show that this room was missing one rather important inhabitant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Late Night Encounters

“Meow”

“Mmmmm.”

“Meow”

“MMMMMM.”

“Meow”

“MMMMM, goddammit, Clarington!” Sebastian threw the comforter off of him and sat up, effectively sending the cat that had been sitting on his chest toppling to the ground. He quickly stood up and shook, sending what could only be described as a glare back up at Sebastian. In return, Sebastian stuck his tongue out at the demon.

“Hunter, control your fucking—” He cut himself off after a glance revealed the empty bed across the room from him. It may have been dark, but there was just enough light to show that this room was missing one rather important inhabitant.

With a glance at his phone for the time, he threw his legs over the edge and pushed himself off the bed. He made it a point to (none too gently) pick up the still mewling cat from its spot on the floor, before padding over towards the bathroom door. He rapped his knuckles on it, then fidgeted with the handle to get Hunter’s attention. “You mind hurrying up in there? Your cat’s getting separation anxiety.”

There was a pause Sebastian felt was completely uncalled, followed by mostly incoherent mumbling. He focused his hearing a bit more intently, and was now able to make out the faint sound of running water and labored breaths before Hunter finally spoke up. “…just ignore him, I’ll be out in a sec. Go back to sleep.”

If anyone else had basically told him to fuck off in these circumstances, Sebastian would have happily complied. Come on, it was 3 in the morning, he was exhausted. However, he didn’t so much as flinch. And maybe it was just his imagination, but something was off with Hunter’s voice. It was… Shaky wasn’t quite the word, but there was definitely an almost panicked tone behind it.

Weak. That’s what it was.

Sebastian frowned to himself. He had only heard Hunter sound like that a handful of times, and none of them had ever been good. Without giving it much thought, he wriggled the door handle a bit more and twisted it, finding it unlocked. Yeah, smart freakin’ move, Clarington. He didn’t give Hunter the courtesy of a warning and just pushed the door open, taking a step back and blinking rapidly at the sudden onslaught of light.

As soon as his eyes focused properly, he frowned at Hunter. He was pale, and Sebastian was able to see him shake as he worked to support himself against the countertop. “Hey, you alright?” He didn’t bother trying to mask the concern in his voice. Because what a dumb question that had been. No, clearly Hunter was not alright and the dumbass had just tried to force Sebastian to sleep instead of being honest.

Oh, and of course he’s going to just stand there and nod. “Perfectly fine, go to sleep.”

Sebastian, in retort, rolled his eyes and tossed the cat from his arms down to the floor. He immediately sprung forward to weave in and out of Hunter’s legs, meowing up at his owner but getting no reply. “I thought you said you were over the flu last week.” Sebastian remarked, remembering how half the school had caught the nasty bug, including his roommate who bad bitched and moaned for three days straight about being confined to bed rest.

Hunter casts his eyes downward at the animal, then drummed his fingers to get its attention. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. In and out, Clarington, just focus your mind. Mr. Puss stretched himself against the cabinet to bat his head against Hunter’s hand. Hunter brushed the tips of his fingers along the cat’s head, but made no other motion to move. He swallowed thickly, his vision cast downward. “Must still be getting over it, I’m feeling kinda nauseous. “

Sebastian had been standing in the doorway, pondering the scene for a moment with crossed arms. And then Hunter had the nerve to stand there, pale and shaking and about a million miles from fine. With an annoyed sigh, Sebastian stepped forward to close the gap between them and pressed his hand to Hunter’s forehead. The reply was one of surprise and confusion, followed by a rather pathetic glare.

“You don’t have a fever… ” Sebastian commented, taking the chance to get a better look at his roommate. Hunter was most definitely paler than what was probably healthy, and his skin felt cold and clammy against Sebastian’s hand. He also noted the slightly ragged breathing. Hunter made to take a step back, but faltered under his own weight. Immediately, Sebastian reached out to steady him, and Hunter just barely registered it while trying to blink away the spots clouding his vision.

Sebastian kept a tight hold of Hunter’s bicep, afraid to remove it and risk Hunter falling. He could hear Hunter’s sporadic breathing, feel the slight shake of his body… “Have you been eating?” He didn’t waste time with any pretense, feeling like a moron for not asking it sooner.

Hunter opened his mouth, but Sebastian cut him off with a scoff. “Don’t bother, I know the answer.” And after thinking for a few seconds, he did. Hunter seemed to be doing fine a few weeks back after returning to Dalton, but he had been a bit lax in what most people would consider self-care. Sebastian remembered his roommate coming to him about a month ago, ecstatic that the nurse had finally agreed he didn’t need to be watched over at meals anymore. That didn’t mean Sebastian was about to take his eye off of him, oh no. He didn’t trust Hunter that much.

He’d admit, he had eased up when Hunter was sick. He couldn’t really fault the guy if half the school was puking their guts out. He’d monitored Hunter once he was healthy again… Right? He thought back to the most recent meal he’d seen Hunter at. Lunch, earlier today… Well, yesterday. He’d eaten, Sebastian had seen him.

No. No, he hadn’t. Not enough to where it would be considered “healthy eating,” at least. He’d watched Hunter push the food around his plate and make idle conversation as much as possible. How much of that 45 minute period was actually been spent eating? Sebastian hadn’t bothered to make sure any of that food was actually making its way into Hunter’s mouth. And after being sick, he probably shouldn’t have been eating so little anyways… Goddammit, Sebastian.

“Goddammit, Hunter. ” Keeping his grip tight, he hauled Hunter into their room and set him on his bed. His roommate was going off about something - “forget it, think I’m still a bit sick, go back to sleep” - but Sebastian was only paying the bare minimum amount of attention as he strolled across the room, flipping the light switch on as he went..

“Mmhmm. Whatever you say, Hunt. Ahh! ” Sebastian looked up from where he had been rummaging through his school bag, and turned his focus back towards Hunter. “Catch. ” He pitched the granola bar directly at Hunter’s head.

In his current state, Hunter had to process and then grope around to catch the projectile before even realizing what it was. When he did, he gave Sebastian a wordless, annoyed look. “Humor me.’ Sebastian spat out, but made it known by his tone that Hunter would eat the damn thing if Sebastian had to make him.

This earned him a heavy sigh, but Sebastian headed over to sit next to Hunter once the other removed the wrapper and took a bite. “Mmm. Who doesn’t love peanut butter chocolate chip?” The side-glare Hunter shot him almost made him laugh before he realized that this wasn’t a laughing matter.

He waited until Hunter took a few more (admittedly small) bites before speaking again. With a heavy sigh, he leaned forward and glanced at his roommate. “Y’know, if your goal is to arrange another trip to the hospital, it looks like you’re doing a phenomenal job.”

“As your best friend, I really don’t think I tell you you’re a dumbass quite often enough.” Hunter snapped back at him after swallowing. It felt rough on his throat, and even the small taste of chocolate- something he hadn’t let himself have in quite some time- was enough to make him nauseous.

In reply, Sebastian let out a disbelieving scoff. “Right. The guy starving himself is clearly in the position to be calling m—-.”

“Drop it, Smythe. ” And there we go again, right back to the defense. Sebastian almost would have preferred Hunter have another panic attack, at least that would make him honest. Hunter took another hesitant bite, never once allowing his eyes to leave his lap.

At this point, Mr. Puss had joined them on the bed, seating himself between Sebastian and his owner. Hunter moved one hand to scratch the top of his head, practically feeling the glare Sebastian was sending his way. “You know, whether you choose to believe it or not, I am capable of taking care of myself.”

“Oh, I know you’re capable. Doesn’t mean you’re going to actually do it.”

Hunter sighed in exasperation, ceasing his petting and letting his eyes slide shut. First chance he got, he was locating some ibuprofen to help deal with this killer headache… “Seriously, just forget it.”

“No, I will not forget it!” The hostility in Sebastian’s voice surprised even himself, and he quickly stood up so that he was standing in front of Hunter. The yell seemed to shut the other boy up. Sebastian was sure it was the first time he’d ever seen him speechless, and decided to take full advantage of it. “You’re not stupid, I shouldn’t have to spell it out for you how completely idiotic you’re being. People need food, Hunt. It’s important for things like, I don’t know, life? “

“Yeah, I fucking know that.” Hunter pushed himself off of the bed so that he was almost nose to nose with Sebastian. The anger radiating off of him was practically tangible. It was only when he noticed the slight waiver in the older boy that Sebastian took a step back to give him more air. “And you’re right, I’m not stupid. I eat. You have seen me eat.”

“I’ve seen you play with your food.” Sebastian rolled his eyes. He was a bit impressed that Hunter managed to maintain his ground, despite looking like he could barely move. Crossing his arms, he decides to take advantage of the two inches in height he had on Hunter and stared him down. “Alright, if you’ve been eating like you should be, why’d I just find you looking like a zombie in the bathroom?”

Hunter sighed in annoyance, bringing a hand up to rub at his temple and groaning. “You do remember playing nurse all of last week, yes? And as I recall, I’ve told you about six goddamn times that I’m probably still sick? Thought I was gonna puke, didn’t, and that’s when your dumb ass decided to get on my case

“You probably felt sick because your stomach’s bitching at you for depriving it of food.” The downcast gaze was all the confirmation Sebastian needed. “Why don’t you do us both a favor and be straight up with me? Do you have any idea what’s going to happen if you keep this up, Hunter? “

“No, Sebastian. Please, enlighten me to my own plight. It’s not like I’ve spent the last three goddamn years of my life dealing with this shit! ” Hunter snapped out, ignoring the pounding in his head and the way the room started spinning. He tightly shut his eyes as Sebastian began talking. Mr. Puss stood on the edge of the bed, his head tilted in concern at the scene in front of him.

“I don’t just mean you getting bitchy because you’re in the hospital, or being shipped back to fuckville, Colorado, or whatever. This sort of thing messes with your heart, and organs, and if you’re not going to bother taking care of yourself, I will!”

“I don’t need you to be my babysitter, Smythe! God, why can’t you just leave it alone? “

“Because I’m not going to sit back and watch you kill yourself!”

The look of anger on Hunter’s face was gone, quickly softening as he let Sebastian’s words suspend themselves in the air. Whereas Hunter’s body language stiffened at declaration, Sebastian spun on his heel to face away. Hunter swallowed dryly, keeping his eyes focused on his roommate. “Bas… I’m not going to die. Alright? ” Despite the sheer panic in his chest, he managed to keep his voice calm for Sebastian’s sake.

Now, it was Sebastian’s turn to start shaking. With anger, with worry, with disbelief… He couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but it hurt like hell. “The fact that you starved yourself enough to wind up in the hospital tells me you can’t guarantee that.” He said quietly, afraid anything louder would solidify the idea in his brain. He took a deep breath to regain control of himself, and then turned back towards Hunter. “And the fact that you’re still doing this shit is a little less convincing, get it?”

Hunter bit his bottom lip, before patting the spot next to him for Sebastian to take a seat. He wordlessly obliged, hands balled into tight fists as he did so. Mr. Puss moved to sit on Hunter’s pillow, but continued to stare at the two of them. Hunter hesitated, then reached over to un-pry his roommate’s fists and force eye contact. “Sebastian, listen to me. I am not going to die. Alright? I know what I’m doing.”

Once again, Sebastian scoffed, refusing to avert his gaze. With raised eyebrows, he said, “You know what you’re doing?” Then, he laughed. “Are you even listening to yourself? If I wasn’t eating for some reason, are you telling me you’d just be okay with it?”

“Of course not.” Hunter answered, not even needing to think about. Sebastian gave him a pointed look in return, and Hunter sighed. “Sebastian… I don’t know what you want from me. Alright? I don’t like eating, I don’t like food, it’s… It sounds pathetic, but that’s really all there is to it.”

Sebastian sighed under his breath. “Yeah, I get that. You keep telling me that, and I just don’t get it. But I get that you do. At the same time, I also get that you’re not even trying to eat. It’s like you don’t want to get over this. So do us both a favor and stop pretending like you’re perfectly alright. Just be fucking honest with me, you owe me that much.”

“This has  _nothing_  to do with you, Sebastian!” Hunter finally snapped. His breathing was growing even more sporadic, and the paleness of his face was nor replaced with redness as he felt his anger start to boil.

“I care for you, asshole!” Jesus Christ, how harder did he have to pound it into Hunter’s head that this was about way more than his unwillingness to eat? “I care about you, that white ball of Satanism cares about you, every single Warbler cares about you. Y’know Nick commented when you got back from your little hospital stay that you looked thinner? And not in a way where he was pointing it out, he was worried about you. Just like how they forced you into bed last week, and why one of them almost always stopped by after class to check on you. People actually give a damn about you, and whether you want it or not, they’ll be on your case eventually. Just like I am right now.” Despite the fact that they were eye level with one another, Hunter couldn’t help but want to cower under Sebastian’s gaze. Very few things were enough to make Hunter feel so pathetic, but this was certainly one of them.

Hunter scanned Sebastian’s features, at a loss for what to say. He opened his mouth to speak a few times, but immediately stopped himself. Instead, he reached out his hand and placed it on top of Sebastian’s in some desperate attempt to keep them both grounded. “Bas. Listen to me, alright? I’ll be fine. Look at me right now, I’m fine I just…” He trailed off with a heavy sigh.

Sebastian let Hunter’s hand rest on his own and kept their eyes locked. “You just what, Hunter?” The look he received told him that Hunter didn’t even know.

“It just takes time, I guess.” Hunter’s voice was just as weak as it had been in the bathroom, and for the first time, Sebastian couldn’t think of him as anything other than small.

“Yeah, but it also means you have to try.” Sebastian’s tone had become lighter sometime during the conversation, but Hunter couldn’t pinpoint exactly when. “Hunt, this? Not eating? This is not okay. You don’t like eating. Alright, fine. We can work on that.”

Hunter furrowed his eyebrows together, and looked up at Sebastian almost incredulously. “‘We’?”

Sebastian returned his confused look with a grin. “Yeah, ‘we.’ What, did you think I’d just lecture you and then throw you out on your own? Come on, now I realize I can be a dick, but have some faith in me.”

“Yeah, fuck that. I’m not about to drag you into my problems.” Hunter immediately jumped to his defense, making his expression as dead-set as he could manage.

Instead of being intimidated by Hunter’s look, Sebastian waved him off. “Too late for that, sweetheart. I’m not giving you a choice. You’re my roommate, and my best friend, and I just found you about to black out in the middle of our bathroom. I’m already invested. So, here’s what we’re gonna do.” In an attempt to focus Hunter’s attention, Sebastian through an arm around his shoulders and leaned in close. “In a few hours, we’ll go down to breakfast. And you’ll eat however much you’re okay with. If I decide you should eat more, you’ll listen.” He held up a hand to prevent Hunter from talking. “I’m not finished. We’ll do the same for lunch and dinner. Repeat the process for the rest of the week. And then, if you’re feeling like it’s too much, I’m taking you to the nurse.”

That seemed to knock Hunter out of whatever trance he had been in, and he was now looking at Sebastian with narrowed eyes. “No way in hell are you ratting me out to the nurse. I  _just_  got her and my parents off my case about the whole thing; I can’t have them all over me again.”

“Then you’ll just have to listen to me.” Sebastian looked Hunter right in the eyes, not allowing room for any sort of maliciousness between them. He just needed Hunter to know that this was sincerity as it’s finest. “Look, I’m not going to force-feed you. Just make sure you eat enough so you’re not destroying yourself. Come on, Hunt.” His tone was almost one of pleading, and he could see a look of what could only be called guilt cross over Hunter’s face.  “I don’t want to see you like this, and something tells me you don’t want to be like this either.”

For the first time that night, Hunter actually laughed. Albeit, it was a small and dark chuckle, but it was still a laugh. “You’re right, I don’t.” He admitted quietly. Sebastian tightened the hold he had on him, and Hunter sighed. “I guess… I can try.” He scoffed at the grin that quickly spread across Sebastian’s face.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”  Hunter nodded for emphasis, though anxiety was clearly written on his features. “I said I’ll try, but you’ve gotta meet me at some middle ground. Don’t… just don’t push me. That’ll only make things worse for both of us.”

“Yeah, right. Like I said, an amount we can both agree on.” Sebastian removed his arm from around Hunter and finally let his body relax. He peeked up at Hunter with a smile, and said, “Thanks for this, Hunt. I mean it.” He didn’t bother commenting that he could still clearly see how unsure Hunter was about the whole thing, and he knew this wasn’t going to be as straight-forward as he would have liked. Hunter knew that, too. But for now, so long as it meant he could try and keep Hunter healthy, he would take it.

Hunter didn’t reply, only gave a shrug in reply. God, he was not looking forward to this. At the same time, a promise was a promise.

Seeing his friend’s distress, Sebastian didn’t hesitate to place a hand on his back. Hunter seemed to lose tension almost right away. “We’ll figure it out more at breakfast, but it’s like… “ One quick glance towards Hunter’s alarm clock. “Shit. 4am. We both need our beauty sleep.” Hunter chuckled and shook his head, making to lightly shove Sebastian off of his bed.

“Then I suggest your lame ass gets back in your own bed so we’re not exhausted in the morning.” Sebastian pouted at the shove, but it didn’t last long until he smiled in return. For added bonus, he spun on his heel and leaned forward to place a kiss on Hunter’s cheek, then quickly jumped back to avoid the smack headed his way. He smirked after turning off the lights and moving towards his own bed, watching Hunter scrub at his cheek viciously.

Hunter rolled his eyes at Sebastian, shifting around on his bed to make himself comfortable. Mr. Puss quickly curled in on his side, and that was just enough to push Hunter over the edge into exhaustion. “You’re a pain in the ass.”

“Please, you know you love it.” Sebastian remarked, waiting until he was sure Hunter was nestled into bed before settling himself in.

 


End file.
